Mass Effect 2 Epilogue: Parting Ways
by Inspiringworld17
Summary: Shepard is preparing to finally face the music and head back to Earth to face trial for allying with Cerberus and destroying the Bahak system. Tali has chosen to briefly accompany him, as she refuses to leave him until she knows he is safe and well taken care of. It's time once again to part ways.


A bit of context for you:

Male Shepard

Origins: Colonist

Reputation: War Hero

Love Interest: Tali

Survivors of suicide mission: entire crew

_This takes place directly after the events of Mass Effect 2 as Shepard is preparing to return to Earth to stand trial._

Mass Effect 2 Epilogue: Parting Ways

"So, you're really going to do this?" Commander Shepard looked up from his datapad and felt a passing moment of déjà vu. Tali 'Zorah Vas Normandy

stood in front of his coffee table, arms crossed and head tilted slightly. It wasn't the first time she had walked into his personal quarters unannounced

and undetected. It hadn't really bothered him the last time, considering where that encounter had led. A faint smile crossed his lips.

"What?" Tali sounded confused. Shepard got up off the couch with a wry grin. "You know, there was a time when I was amazed at your preference

for close quarters combat. Now I'm starting to see how stealthy you really are."

Tali uncrossed her arms and looked down sheepishly. "Oh, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to invade your privacy, I just figured"- "It's okay, Miss Vas

Normandy, 'ship's just as much yours as it is mine…until we get to Earth at least."

"That's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. You're going to turn the ship in, turn yourself in to the Alliance? Shepard, I never doubted

your decision to destroy that mass relay in the Bahak system. If we let the Reapers pass through the relay instead of sacrificing those batarian worlds

by destroying it, the batarians would have been doomed anyway and the Reapers would be all over the galaxy by now. _We _know that, but there are

still plenty of people out there who still don't believe in the Reapers, who think that _Sovereign_ was just a geth-built ship and Saren was the mastermind

behind the attacks on Eden Prime and the Citadel."

She had a point. There was a good chance at least some of the judges on the Alliance council would share that opinion when he stood trial.

Hundreds of thousands of lives sacrificed to protect the galaxy from rumors and myths? He could hear them now.

"Admiral Hackett and Anderson will vouch for me. Their word will go a long way, don't worry. Besides, I need to be in good graces with the

Alliance. If I refuse to stand trial for working with Cerberus and destroying that relay, I won't have their support and resources when the Reapers

finally do come."

Tali sighed and sat down at the foot of his bed. "I understand, but it just doesn't seem right. We just got done risking our lives to fight

off the Collectors, saving thousands of human colonists, maybe more, and they have the nerve to court martial you?"

Shepard took her hands in his and sat down next to her. "You don't deserve this Shepard." she said softly. He looked into her visor and in a pulse of

dull blue light; he could see the sympathy in her eyes.

"I could think of another thing I don't deserve. I've put you through so much, you and the rest of the crew. And you were all loyal to me, even in the

face of almost certain death. Sure, I did small favors for just about everyone, but none of them could compare to what I asked of you all."

Tali straightened up. "Coming to my defense when the Conclave tried me for treason was no small favor, Shepard. That speech you gave convinced

them to drop all charges. You single-handedly saved me from exile and kept my father's name from being disgraced and forgotten."

Shepard shrugged. "Well, you know I wasn't just blowing hot air, it was true. The trial was a sham. After all your hard work helping me fight Saren

and the geth, and all your skill and knowledge, they should've been praising you and asking for your advice, not putting you on…trial." He was sure Tali

was smiling.

"And now you know how I feel about you. There was something else I wanted to tell you. I'm going to stay with you until you get to Earth. If you're

going through with this, I want to see how they treat you."

Shepard gave her a meaningful look, and then chuckled. "That means a lot Tali, but I'm pretty sure they're not going to pin me to the bulkhead and cuff

me on the spot."

Tali snorted. "If they do anything of the sort I can't promise I won't make a scene. You'd do the same for me."

"Yeah, I would…but wait, you're not staying on Earth, so how will you get home?"

Tali activated her omni-tool and tapped at the controls. "It just so happens I have a distant cousin on his pilgrimage in the Sol System. He's been

working with the Alliance to help develop a line of anti-synthetic small arms based on the quarian-designed Adas rifle. The Alliance agreed to reward his

expertise on the project with a decent-sized shipment of armaments and ordnance from retired cruisers and capital ships my people are planning to

retrofit to some of the larger civilian vessels in the Migrant Fleet."

"Ah, according to his last sent message to the Fleet, the Alliance is pleased with the prototypes that have been developed and feel they can take now

take complete control of the project. His contract is complete and he'll be heading back home soon. I can contact him and hitch a ride. We've only met

once or twice, but I'm sure he won't mind."

"Wait, his pilgrimage gift is capital ship guns? And you said they're going to use them to arm civilian vessels. Tali, it sounds like your people really are

preparing for war with the geth."

"It was still up for debate during my trial, but the decision could have been made since then." She paused. "I could check pilgrimage records to see if

similar offerings have been made recently."

Back during Tali's trial, Shepard had talked to members of the Admiralty Board and discovered they had been debating on all out war with the geth.

Some admirals had even spoken of trying to retake Rannoch, the quarian home world, which the geth had forced them to flee from over 300 years ago.

An entire race of people forced to live in a flotilla of wandering ships for centuries, their immune systems weakened to the point of needing to wear

enviro- suits wherever they went or risk sickness or even death. Tali had to take large doses of immuno-boosters and antibiotics just to be with him, he

recalled. Just to 'feel his skin on hers' as she had so desperately wanted and even then she had gotten something resembling the flu afterwards. He

couldn't even begin to imagine the hardships her people had faced all this time. So he had sided with the ones who wanted war. If he was a quarian,

he had thought, retaking Rannoch would be worth the risk to him. Being able to live a normal life and breathe in fresh unfiltered air and all the other

freedoms. And yet…in light of the coming Reaper invasion…"It may all be in vain." Shepard said pensively.

Tali looked up from her omni-tool. "What?"

"I might have made a mistake agreeing with the admirals on the Board who wanted to go to war. If your people are preoccupied with the geth they

won't be focused on helping the rest of the galaxy fight the Reapers…and even if they manage to win the war, their guaranteed to have taken losses,

and that will leave them vulnerable to attack."

Tali nodded gravely. "When I get back to the Fleet I'll do my best to remind them of the

bigger picture."

_2 weeks later_

Shepard and Tali walked out from the _Normandy_ onto the deck of the docking bay side by side. They were unarmed, something Shepard had insisted

on. This wasn't some backwater world full of pirates and miscreants, or a Noveria where, behind the clean, legitimate-looking, 'strictly business' façade

lurked sinister and dark secrets. This was Earth. This was the Alliance. These were his people and if he wasn't safe here, he wasn't

safe anywhere.

The doors to the security checkpoint slid open and a navy officer Shepard didn't recognize emerged flanked by two more armed with

Avenger Assault Rifles.

"Commander Shepard?" The man offered his hand. Shepard shook it, brief but firm. "My name is Charles Delaney. I run the

security in this sector of the installation. Admiral Hackett himself informed my commanding officer of your decision to turn yourself in willingly and

assured us you would cooperate."

Shepard nodded. "I haven't forgotten who I am and where I come from. I have a responsibility as an Alliance soldier to answer for what I've done and I

intend to fulfill it."

"That's good to hear son; you've made the right decision." He turned to the two guards. "It's all right men. Go ahead back to your posts." They saluted

and left.

Delaney watched them leave, then turned and looked past Shepard at the SR-2, gazing at it for a moment with intense interest. His tone changed, a bit

less formal and slightly conspiratorial.

"So they really did it, huh? Those Cerberus thugs rebuilt her bigger and better than before. I heard a lot of talk about the original Normandy. If half of it

was true, I can't begin to understand how they could have duplicated it much less pulled off an even better design."

Shepard turned to look at the Normandy for a moment and then looked back at Delaney. "At this point sir, the last thing I want to do is brag about

Cerberus's engineering prowess, but there's no denying it: It's a hell of a good ship. It played no small part in helping us defeat the Collectors."

Delaney gave Shepard a serious look."Yes, commander, you know, what you've accomplished for humanity isn't lost on us."

Tali finally spoke up "I certainly hope so. It was no easy feat…for any of us."

"Forgive my manners ma'am, Charles Delaney…you worked with Shepard on this mission?"

"Tali 'Zorah Vas Normandy, and yes, it was so fun the first time I thought I'd have another go."

Shepard failed to stifle a snort of laughter. Delaney looked at both of them for a moment. "Wait, you're that quarian machinist who served on the

original Normandy, aren't you? It seems you have some very loyal friends Commander."

"Biggest understatement I've heard in a while." Shepard said, and gently took Tali by the hand.

They stared at each other for a moment, until Delaney cleared his throat and said, "My apologies Shepard, but my curiosity got the better of me. Let's

get on with this."

_Later that day_

"Well, all things considered, I think this is going pretty well." Shepard stared out from the window of his temporary quarters. The window faced

outward from the small base complex, offering a view of the Seattle skyline. He had heard once this was a famously rainy city, but the sky was clear as

the sun began to set and the warm rays on his face made him squint a little. Tali gazed out the window too.

He turned to her. "I mean you could hardly call this a prison cell and I doubt things we'll be any different when they move me to Vancouver in a few

days."

Tali didn't answer. She continued to stare out the window. He studied her for a moment, noting her posture, and realized just how melancholic she

looked. Her head and shoulders sagged a little, her helmet almost touching the glass as she leaned on the railing. She stood right in between where

the sunlight on his side of the room met the shadow of a nearby building on the other side; half shrouded in light, half cloaked in darkness.

The time for small talk was over, he thought. This was it. There was a host of reasons why this may be the last time they saw each other.

He crossed the room with a few paces and took her around the waist. She turned and buried her head in his chest. Then pulled up and tore away her

face mask with frustration. She looked up, and finally he could see the tears in her eyes. That look, it cut him to his core. Her lips trembling. Her eyes

softly aglow and so earnest with…yes. It was. What else could you call it? She cared. She cared deeply.

With a hard set jaw and tears welling in his eyes he looked up to the ceiling and vowed with a fierce passion in his heart that somehow, someday she

would be freed from this prison she was forced to live in, free to love without fear of-

She looked up and cupped his face in her hands and brought it down to touch hers. "I don't care, Shepard." She read his mind. "I need you now,

don't hesitate." He kissed her cheeks and tasted the bitterness of her tears. Then her lips found his.

_This short collection of scenes was written purely for my own pleasure as a way of bridging the gap between the two games in regards to my Shepard's romantic interest with Tali. However, it is my first attempt at fan-fiction and as such, reviews and critiques (positive or negative) are very welcome. _


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